UK Banking

Antony Jenkins was a breath of fresh air when he took the helm at Barclays three years ago. His humility and and commitment to change were in stark contrast to the brash arrogance of his predecessor Bob Diamond. He was one of the first big bank CEOs to talk seriously about cultural change and, more importantly, his words followed through into actions.

On Wednesday night in his Mansion House Speech the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, signaled the end to the 'culture of impunity' for those pin-striped villains known as bankers, who have for so long shown so much contempt for the law.

Peer-to-peer lending is now ten years old, with the first ever peer-to-peer finance platform Zopa, celebrating a decade in business this month. That decade has seen a dramatic change in the banking landscape.

Consumer behaviour has been altered significantly by the rise of social media and mobile technology. Today's banking customers are always connected, always online and heavily influenced by social recommendations and word of mouth.

As all banks continue to navigate through today's digital era and innovate to keep up with customer demands, robust security remains vital in order to meet the industry's strict compliance guidelines and retain the confidence of their customers.

Those of us who have decried the way the policies of austerity and monetary stimulus have been used to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor should be arguing now that, when the ECB loosens the purse-strings, it must use the principle of sustainability to guide how QE should be implemented...

As long as the public continues to accept the assurances of the rich that we have to suffer so that they don't have to, the bitterness created will continue to create divisions between ethnic and religious communities that should be working together to destroy zero hour contracts and ensure proper funding for the NHS.

If we are then what are the benefits for us as a people of this Superpower? We are told that we benefit from trade deals here and there. But what is the reality? Are we as a population kidding ourselves that we are still a world power? Or is it more of an egotistical and superior belief that we are better than others who are not 'world powers'?